Into the Light
by Whytho123
Summary: When Dex washed up on the shores of Havenfield alone, everyone assumed Sophie Foster was dead. For three years, Sophie has remained in hiding with the Black Swan, attending Exillium and training in her numerous abilities. When she meets faces from her past, they must join forces to stop the Neverseen. (Sokeefe)
1. Chapter I

"They weren't ready."

Mr. Forkle had just returned from retrieving Sophie and Dex from Paris. After leaving them with Physic, he had gathered the collective.

They were currently in an emergency meeting.

"Who?" asked Granite.

"The Elves. They weren't ready for Sophie. Not yet. She has accomplished her first mission. She put the fire out and cleared our name. There is no longer a reason for her to stay."

"Well, what do you expect us to do with her?" asked Wraith.

"We'll keep her with us. Let her join the Black Swan. We can train her to use her abilities and she can go to Exilium for skill training." replied Mr. Forkle.

"And my s- the boy?" asked Squall, her voice trembling slightly.

"Dex? We'll send him back to his family. He doesn't need to know anything, not even that Sophie is alive."

"So we trigger her abilities, train her, and then...?" Wraith trailed off.

"Then we wait." Mr. Forkle finished.

"Wait for what?" asked Blur.

"We'll know when the time is right. But for now, as far as anyone knows, Sophie Foster is dead."


	2. Chapter II

Sophie twisted her long bead necklace between her gloved fingers and sighed. Exillium "activities" were never _fun_, but appetite suppression was downright awful. Sophie had been doing it for three years now, and it was still a struggle to keep her stomach from growling.

Their location today wasn't helping either. The heat was oppressive and the humidity was suffocating. Sophie never hated the stuffy uniforms more than when it was hot. Next to her, Linh shifted on the threadbare mat, no doubt trying to get comfortable. They had been sitting still for hours in this miserable tent.

At long last, the gong sounded, releasing them, and the waywards all shuffled to the pavilion to receive their beads. Sophie was joined by Tam and Linh as they filed into a line behind their coach. All three were in Ambi, meaning they were behind the purple coach, whom Tam had jokingly dubbed "the grape."

"Ugh, I am so hungry I could eat a whole dinosaur." Linh complained in a whisper.

Sophie laughed, drawing looks from the other waywards. She ducked her head and stared at her feet. Attention was not good here. Neither was laughter.

_Aren't elves vegetarians?_ she transmitted back.

"At this point, I no longer care." Linh whispered.

Once they were inside the golden pavilion the coaches floated the beads overhead. Sophie took hers and tied it onto her necklace with the others. She pulled out her leaping crystal and turned to Tam and Linh.

_Ready?_ she transmitted.

Tam and Linh nodded. The three joined hands and Sophie held their leaping crystal up to the light.

The brightness faded, revealing the beautiful cavern of Alluveterre. Linh and Sophe shared one tree house, and Tam had the other all to himself (a fact he loved to mention).

Sophie dropped the crystal back around her neck where it clattered against her allergy medication and her small swan shaped magnifying glass which she received when she had joined the Black Swan. With it, she almost burned Exilium down on her first day. That was… an _interesting_ day, to say the least.

She yanked off her hood and mask, letting the fresh air cool her face. Tam and Linh did the same. Having time to spare before afternoon training, they all wandered up to Linh's room.

Tam flopped onto the bed. "Ugh, what a day.".

"No kidding, I can't wait for dinner." said Linh, running her fingers through her long, silver tipped hair.

Sophie's stomach growled loudly, as if on cue. "Me too. I wonder what we're having."

"Calla is making Starkflower stew." said Mr. Forkle, waddling into the room. "I came to tell you that something... came up, so you are off the hook for training this afternoon."

Sophie sighed in relief. She had been dreading her linguistics lesson, still struggling with mimicking.

"Why? What happened?"

"Not your problem." Mr. Forkle said, giving Sophie the _'don't even think about it'_ look. She knew that look well.

"Yes, sir." said Sophie, giving him a mock salute.

Mr. Forkle sighed and shuffled away, grumbling something about '_you kids._'

Tam grinned. "No training. That means we have free time. What do you want to do?".

"Eat. " said Linh.

"Eat." agreed Sophie.

Tam rolled his eyes. "We can't eat yet."

"I still want tooooo." Sophie whined.

"What are you, twelve?" Tam asked.

"Yeah, on a scale of one to ten." she shot back.

Tam rolled his eyes again. Linh giggled.

"I wonder what 'came up'." Sophie mused, sitting on the bed next to Tam.

"We shouldn't investigate. You saw the look Forkle gave us." Tam glared.

"Aw, come on, we deserve to know. We're members of the Black Swan too." Linh added.

"Yeah, but this is _'not our problem'_." Tam insisted.

"But-" Linh was cut off by Calla calling them for dinner.

The three raced into the dining area, knocking down anything and everything in their path in a mad rush for food. They reached the table, tripping over each other in a mad rush. Calla grinned at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Appetite suppression?"

Calla smiled at the chorus of "ugh, yes" and gave them each a heaping portion of Starkflower stew. They took it thankfully and all went back for seconds.

"So, how was school today?" Calla asked, clearing their plates when they had all finished.

Sophie rolled her shoulders, ridding herself of the tension the day had caused. "It was okay, I guess. In the morning we practiced body temperature regulation, 'cause it was so hot."

"Then appetite suppression." Linh added.

Calla smiled kindly.

"Sounds like an exhausting day. Tomorrow will be... _equally taxing_, so I suggest you three her ready for bed." She said gently.

Linh yawned, nodding.

"Sleep sounds amazing. See you guys in the morning." Tam said, walking up to his room.

Linh followed Tam to the stairs. "Goodnight, Sophie."

"Yeah, goodnight. I'm not tired yet, see you guys in the morning." Sophie responded.

Sophie stayed with Calla, helping her with the dishes. They chatted about this and that, until two gnomes ran up to Calla and asked her to help with a beached eckodon. Calla looked at Sophie apologetically.

"It's okay. Go help! I'll finish up here." Sophie said, shuddering at the thought of an angry eckodon.

"Thank you, my moonlark." Calla said with a green smile, before running off with the other gnomes.

Sophie worked quickly, washing and putting away the dishes. Once the table was wiped down she deemed her work complete and walked towards the stairs. Halfway there, she heard Mr. Forkle talking in a hushed tone to Granite. It was wrong to eavesdrop, sure, but if she _accidentally_ heard something...

She hid beneath the winding spiral staircase.

"What if they find out?" Granite asked.

"They were bound to at some point. Why delay the inevitable? Besides, we're going to have to bring them here, anyways." came Mr. Forkle's gruff reply.

"We're bringing them here? They're sure to see her!"

"If they were desperate enough to get into this situation, they're ready to join. And... I think it's time."

"Time?"

"Time for the Moonlark to be seen."


	3. Chapter III

Sophie laid awake in her bed, staring at the ceiling.

What did they mean 'time for the Moonlark to be seen?' She knew she was the Moonlark... Calla called her that every day. Were they sending her back to the Lost Cities? She hadn't seen the Lost Cities in three years. Her thoughts wandered to her old friends... and enemies. Dex, Keefe... Fitz...Biana. Edaline and Grady. Stina. She had left so many loose ends. How were Grady and Edaline now? Did they even miss her? Did the Vackers move on? We're they ever her friends in the first place? She had forgiven them a long time ago, and she hoped they didn't blame themselves for her disappearance. How was Dex? She had so many questions...

Sophie sighed and sat up, accepting the fact that sleep was not coming tonight. She glanced at the screen on her iPod (retrieved by Mr. Forkle).

4:53 AM

Not too bad, she had to get up in seven minutes anyway. She sighed and rolled out of bed. She walked across the room to her closet, to put on her Exillium uniform. Calla gently knocked on the door just as she was adjusting her mask. Sophie walked out of the door, surprising Calla, as she was usually the last one up.

"You're up early." Calls remarked .

"Couldn't sleep." Sophie replied with a yawn.

"I know that feeling." Tam said, walking up to the breakfast table.

Linh silently joined them with an irate expression on her sweet face. She was not a morning person, to say the least.

Sophie fiddled with her pins. She had four, more than anyone else at Exillium. It made her stand out, and it's not like she needed that. She hated attention.

"Well, time to go." said Tam, grabbing each of them a fruit.

Sophie nodded and they all took out their beads.

"See you all this afternoon." said Calla giving them a grim wave as they glittered away. Sophie wondered if she knew something bad was going to happen.

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

When they appeared at Exillium, Sophie grinned. The landscape was a dry meadow with a large lake in the center. They would probably be practicing breath holding, one of the things she was best at. A warm breeze swept through, rustling the dry grass. Sophie turned to Tam and Linh.

_This is the nicest place we've been in a long time_. she transmitted.

"Agreed" Tam shadow whispered.

Linh grunted. She didn't really talk until the sun was above the horizon.

The three headed to the Ambi tent, quietly taking seats next to each other. As much as friendship was discouraged, the coaches tolerated the three's relationship. They sat still as they waited for everyone to arrive. When all of the waywards were seated, the purple coach announced that they would be practicing breath holding. They silently got up and headed to the tent with the wetsuits. Before they got there, however, there was a loud squealing sound. Sophie turned to see four new waywards dangling upside down from the arch. Everyone gathered around, as it wasn't every day _four_ new kids enrolled. They thrashed and struggled, trying to get free of their uncomfortable bonds. The coaches stepped forward.

"Welcome to your Dividing." the red coach shouted.

"You must find your way to freedom." her coach yelled.

"There is no right answer to the problem." the blue coach yelled, before continuing her script.

It was the same speech every time a new wayward arrived, and Tam, Linh, and Sophie could quote it. And they did. _A lot_. It drove Mr. Forkle crazy.

A loud ripping sound drew Sophie's attention to the left. A figure fell from the arch, ripping his pants off in the process. The students giggled softly. Sophie scanned the remaining three waywards. One was blinking in and out of sight as she swung back and forth. Probably a vanisher. One was sawing at his rope with something silver, a clever idea, but she couldn't read his pin. The last was attempting to unite his knot, but she could read his pin if she squinted. Telepath. Sophie gasped. She hadn't met another Telepath her age since Fitz.

The wayward who had been sawing his rope succeeded, and smoothly levitated to the ground. Sophie felt a twinge of admiration. It had taken her almost a year to master levitation. He pocketed the saw, which she realized had been his belt buckle. She squinted at his pin. Technopath. That was one Sophie hadn't seen before, neither in the Lost Cities nor Exillium.

The Vanisher's rope snapped, and Sophie realized that she had been cutting it with the thorns on the arch. The Telepath flipped up to the top of the gate and untied himself.

The red and blue coaches stepped forward.

"Left Hemisphere. Logic and reasoning." said the red coach, stepping forward and putting red handprints on the Vanisher and the Telepath.

"Right Hemisphere. Impulse and creativity." said the blue coach, slapping a blue handprint on the pants-less boy and the Technopath.

Purple coach turned to Sophie.

"Take that one to the medic tent." She said pointing to the pants-less boy.

She sighed and walked towards him. She offered him her hand, and pulled him up when he accepted it. They walked in silence to the medic's tent. Needless to say, with her clumsiness, she came here a lot.

"How long have you been here?" the boy asked.

"Three years."

"Wow. I can feel your sadness from here. I haven't felt such strong emotions since... " he trailed off.

Felt emotions? She glanced at his pin. Yep, he was an Empath. Funny, the last Empath she knew was Keefe. Something about him reminded her of Keefe, actually...

Probably just her mind playing tricks on her.

"That's a lot of abilities you got there. Inflictor, Telepath, Polyglot, Enhancer. Awesome." he said.

"Thanks... We're here." she said, pulling open the tent flap. "Oh, and one thing... Be careful about who you talk to. Most people here aren't friendly."

He nodded his thanks as he limped into the tent. She turned away, unable to shake off the feeling of familiarity.

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

"Lunch at last." Sophie muttered as she made her way to the dining pavilion.

Despite the _terrible_ food, Sophie looked forward to lunch every day. After quite a few failed taste tests, she had finally found something that was edible.

She got in line behind the new Telepath. She could feel his intense gaze on her, but ignored it. They reached the counter with the fruit, and the Telepath reached for a shiny teal fruit. She had made the mistake of grabbing that on the first day, as it reminded her of the beautiful Vacker eyes.

_I wouldn't pick that one, if I were you._ she transmitted.

He jumped and spun around.

_It's not good to eat. Nice to look at, but you should try this one._

She tossed him a grey fruit that tasted similar to an apple.

"Thanks." he whispered . "Would you like to sit with us? My friends and I?"

_No, thank you. You should be careful, friendship is not encouraged here._ With that transmission, she grabbed her fruit, turned, and strode away. She was definitely playing the part of Mysterious Miss Foster, as Keefe used to call her.

She found Tam and Linh at the back of the pavilion.

"What do you think of the new kids?" Tam's voice whispered.

Linh shrugged and bit into her lunch.

_I don't know. They're different... definitely fresh from the Lost Cities. I don't know if they failed Exams, or committed a crime. I can't tell. _Sophie transmitted back.

"I don't really care. I just think they're weird." Tam said with a shrug.

Sophie sighed. Tam was so annoying sometimes.

The coaches came in and announced the next session: sustained levitation. Not too bad, Sophie could do it now. It was incredibly draining, though, so she was going to want a nap after school.

While she was levitating, she decided to strike up a conversation with the Telepath.

_So, what did you do to get here?_ Sophie transmitted.

Over in the left hemisphere, a wayward fell in the floor. She assumed it was the Telepath. She bit back a giggle.

_Sorry! I'll open my mind to you. _She transmitted.

_Great gulons, you scared me! And... I can't tell you. I'm sorry, I don't know you all that well. How did you get past my blocking? _His thoughts came so fast, it was hard for Sophie to understand.

_I'm just a strong Telepath, I guess. Well...good talk._ She transmitted, before closing her mind to his. The conversation was pointless if he wasn't going to tell her anything. His thoughts seemed really familiar though...

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

When the beads had been handed out and waywards were leaping home, Sophie glanced over to the new kids, wondering if they _had_ a home.

"They'll be fine." said Tam, taking out his crystal.

"I'm sure you're right." she replied with a sigh.

She joined hands with Tam and Linh, and the three stepped into the light. Casting one more look at the new kids, she was surprised to see a familiar figure approaching them. Then everything faded into the light.


	4. Chapter IV

_A familiar figure approaching the new waywards..._

"Granite?!" she shouted as they appeared in Alluveterre.

"Sophi-"

"That was Granite!"

"Sophi-"

"What was he doing with the new waywards?!"

"Sophi-"

"I have to talk to Mr. Forkle about this! He has some explaining to do! I mean seriously, what the-"

"_SOPHIE!_" Tam yelled.

"_What?!_" she snapped back.

"You've faded."

Surprised, she looked at her hands. The color was almost completely gone, leaving her skin a faint ash grey. She must have lost concentration when she saw Granite. Sophie scowled.

"Of course I am." she sighed.

"I'll take you to see Physic." Linh said, gently taking Sophie's hand and leading her to the infirmary.

Luckily, Physic was there, organizing her office and getting ready to go home. She looked up when the girls came in, adjusting her mask. When she saw Sophie, she sighed wearily.

"You faded? What happened?"

"I lost concentration right before we leapt." Sophie mumbled.

"Okay. I can fix this with the right formula. What made you lose your concentration?"

"I saw Granite with the new waywards. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Sophie asked, slouching over to sit in one of the beds.

"No. They don't really tell me anything." she responded, frowning. "Well, you're going to have to miss dinner, I'm sorry. I don't have limbium free fade fuel on me right now, so you'll have to wait while I go get some." she said, turning around and picking up her medical bag.

"That exists?" Sophie asked.

"Yes. I'll have to ask Squall... Her husband... " Physic mumbled, trailing off into her thoughts. "Well, you wait here. I'll be back soon enough."

She pulled out a leaping crystal and vanished.

Sophie turned to Linh.

"You can go ahead to dinner. You don't have to stay here."

"Really? Are you sure?" Linh asked.

Sophie nodded.

"Okay. I'll see you later." Linh said, leaving with one last sympathetic look.

Sophie sighed. She settled in the bed to wait, and ended up drifting off to sleep.

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

When she woke up a few hours later, Physic said she could go.

"Don't I need the fade fuel?" she asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I gave it to you while you slept." said Physic, leading Sophie to the door. "Calla saved you some dinner. Now shoo please, so I can go home."

Sophie thanked her, then started towards her room so she could change out of her Exilium robes. Her thoughts drifted to Granite.

_What if this connects to the conversation I heard last night? _

_Are they bringing the new waywards here? _

_What if-_

Lost in her thoughts, she slammed into something- someone? She groaned, standing up and rubbing her back.

"I am so sorry! I wasn't paying attention, I didn't mean to knock you down! "

"It's fine I wasn't watching where I was going either."

"Foster?"

Sophie glanced up and found herself lost in a pair of ice blue eyes.

Keefe's eyes.

For a moment they just stared at each other in shock.

"Keefe..."

"Foster! You're alive? I missed you… so, so much. " he cried pulling her into a bone crushing hug.

"I... missed you too, Keefe." She said, hesitantly hugging him back.

"It's been such a long time! You're so much taller." he pulled back to look at her, "And cuter."

Sophie blushed. If she was honest with herself (and she wasn't about to be), Keefe was a lot cuter now, too.

"Honestly, I can't believe -" Keefe was cut off by Tam's door slamming open from down the hall.

"Could you two _please_ be quiet?! I'm trying to sleep! I understand that you're having a touching reunion with your boyfriend or whatever, but I need you to take your loud squealing somewhere else." Tam snapped, before shutting the door with a loud crash.

"Tam!" Sophie yelled, flushing red as a flaredon.

"Boyfriend?" Keefe asked, turning to her with a smirk.

"Really? _That's_ what you got from that?" Sophie was blushing harder now.

Keefe laughed.

"Come on. Dex is going to have a heart attack when he sees you." Keefe said, walking towards his room, and beckoning for her to follow.

Running to catch up, Sophie felt her stomach drop. "Dex is here?"

"Yeah. You go to Exilium, right?" he asked.

She nodded, gesturing to her clothes.

"Wait. You're the one who led me to the infirmary? Oh, that makes so much sense... You really have a crazy number of powers, you know that, right-"

"Keefe. You're getting off topic."

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Anyways, Dex, Biana, Fitz, and I all enrolled in Exilium. You were there for the arch thing, right?"

"So then... Dex and Biana are the Technopath and Vanisher?"

"Yep." Keefe said, stopping at a door. "Dex and Fitz are staying in here with me. Biana is either with you or that cool water girl."

The door was flung open by a tall strawberry blonde boy with an annoyed expression on his face. When he saw Keefe, he rolled his periwinkle eyes.

"Keefe, what were you even- _Sophie_?"

"Dex?


	5. Chapter V

**hnnng writing i im sorry about the terrible quality of this chapter, i tried my best**

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

"What is going on here? I can hear you from downstairs," an unmistakable accent flooded into the room.

Sophie wiped her eyes and looked up from where she had been sitting with Dex and Keefe.

They had been catching up on the past three years. And hugging. And crying. Well, Sophie cried. Dex did too. Keefe may have choked back a few tears.

Fitz and Biana walked into the room together. They both noticed Sophie at the same time.

Silence.

Then Biana burst into tears.

"Sophie! You're alive! I- you were dead - all my fault! Please forgive me," she sobbed, crushing Sophie in a bear hug.

"No! It was never your fault! I'm so sorry you thought it was," Sophie reassured her, wiping away a few tears of her own. In truth, she didn't even make it through her first day at Exilium without missing her friends.

"Hi, Sophie. It's... _really_ good to see you again. I missed you a lot, " Fitz said, giving Sophie his movie star smile.

Sophie's stomach flipped- but this time... no, seeing his smile didn't evoke any romantic feelings, which had faded into a memory with time. She was struck by the familiarity and completeness she felt, surrounded by her old friends.

"You okay Foster?" asked Keefe, most likely sensing her mood changing.

She nodded, wiping her eyes again.

"It's just so good to see you guys again. You have no idea how much I've missed you."

"I think we have some idea," Dex mumbled, wrapping his arms around himself.

She frowned.

"I'm _so sorry_... If I had the choice to come back-"

"It wasn't something we wanted to do to any of you," Mr. Forkle interrupted, striding into the room. "And I apologize for that. Good to see that you've all caught up with each other though. Get some rest. Tomorrow is going to be a long day."

"Well... Goodnight? I'll see you all in the morning, I guess." Sophie said turning back to her old friends.

"Oh, we're, uh, sharing a room. If that's okay, I don't want to make you uncomfortable or anyth-" Biana was cut off by Sophie laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Its fine." she said with a smile. "Goodnight everyone."


	6. Chapter VI

"So what was it that makes today so very interesting?" Sophie asked, dragging a very tired Biana into the kitchen.

"Well, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you have to wait until everyone else wakes up," Mr. Forkle said with a grin.

"Wait, they're still asleep?"

"Yes. You, Biana, and Tam are the only ones awake," he paused, glancing in her direction, "Actually, I'm not so sure about Biana."

Biana grunted.

"Just like my sister." Tam said, setting breakfast down on the table.

Linh chose that moment to slump into the kitchen. "What are you saying 'bout me?"

Tam cleared his throat. "Nothing."

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

Once everyone had gathered in the kitchen, Sophie turned her attention to Mr. Forkle.

"What is it you wanted to tell us?" She asked eagerly.

He looked around to make sure that they were all paying attention.

"Well," he began, meeting her gaze, "I believe it's time for you all to start working for the black swan."

.•°'°•.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

"YES!" Sophie yelled, pumping her fist in the air.

Fitz looked between Sophie and Mr. Forkle. "What does this mean?"

"Well- "

"Missions! Secrets! Cool disguises! Swan themed merchandise!" she yelled giddily.

Mr. Forkle leveled a glare at her.

"What I was going to say, before I was so _rudely_ interrupted, is that there are several things involved with being a member of the Black Swan. You have to go into the field and do reconnaissance, you are allowed to know more information, you must be more careful about your identity being discovered, and you should learn to recognize the symbols of the Black Swan, wherever they might be hidden."

"So basically... missions, secrets, cool disguises, and swan merch?" Keefe asked, raising and eyebrow.

Mr. Forkle sighed, shaking his head.

"You kids... yes, that's basically what I'm saying."

"Cool. So, when can we start?" Biana asked.

"Today."

"Today? As in _today-today_? You make us wait years and then you just drop a bomb like this?" Tam grumbled, flipping his bangs.

Sophie laughed. "Don't be such a killjoy, Tam."

"You were the one who introduced me to MCR."

"Oh, come on. You would've found it eventually, what with your personality-"

Mr. Forkle cleared his throat.

"Anyways, I was thinking that we could begin your training today. I'm going to send you to retrieve something I forgot in the Forbidden Cities, and I need to choose someone to go with Sophie."

Everyone began to speak at once, each giving their best reasoning as to why they should be the one chosen.

"We went to Exillium together, I should be the one to go-"

"I was there too, besides _my_ skills are stronger-"

"I'm a telepath, I would be helpful!"

"Yeah, but Sophie's already a telepath. She could probably use a vanisher though!"

"Hey, an empath would be super useful too, I-"

"TECHNOLOGY IS ALWAYS THE ANSWER!"

"_Enough_!" Mr. Forkle's voice silenced the room, drawing all eyes to him.

"The object I need you to retrieve was placed there by our empath, who 'tagged' it, so to speak. Only another empath can retrieve it, so I need Keefe to go with Sophie. He happens to be the strongest empath I've come across in a long time, so he should be able to locate it."

Keefe pumped his fist and smirked at Sophie.

"Team Foster-Keefe for the win!"

Mr. Forkle ignored him. "The rest of you will be getting to know our training room."

A chorus of groans filled the room as Mr. Forkle pointed to the door that led to the training room. Tam, Linh, Dex, and Biana, and Fitz left, trudging down the hallway. Mr. Forkle turned to Sophie and Keefe.

"Here. This will take you to the Forbidden Cities, and the note will explain what you need to do." He handed them a blue crystal and an envelope. "This one will take you back to where Calla can bring you back here." With that he handed them a clear crystal and followed the others out of the room.

Keefe stared after him. "So... that's it? No training? Helpful hints? Not even a 'good luck, don't die'?"

"That's just how Mr. Forkle works. I bet the note is gonna be equally cryptic."

She held up the blue crystal to the light and grinned at Keefe. "Here goes nothing."


	7. Chapter VII

The moment they materialized in a back alleyway, Keefe began to cough.

Sophie glanced at him in alarm. "What's wrong?"

"Sorry, it's just- what's wrong with the air?"

"The air?"

Sophie took a deep breath. The fires had been long extinguished, so the air didn't smell like burnt sugar. It just smelled like... a city. The city she had grown up in. Then, Sophie realized-

"It's human pollution. They don't have the ability to filter the air like we do."

"So, they just... live with it? That's _terrible_."

"Not really. I mean, yes, the pollution itself is terrible, but you get used to it."

"We could help them. We have the technology- why not share?"

"I don't know. The elves used to help humans, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did. Maybe... maybe we should do it again. There's no reason to hoard the resources we have."

Sophie smiled. "That's a good idea. We should ask Mr. Forkle about it when we get back. Speaking of Mr. Forkle, we need to find the... thing."

"Oh yeah. Okay, so what does the note say?"

She opened the envelope and slid the note out.

_You will find the item in the place_

_That has a million stories_

_But cannot tell them._

_Find it in the place_

_Near the nesting of our kin._

"Um. What," Keefe blinked in surprise.

Sophie sighed. "I know. Everything he does is like this, I swear. One time he left me a note that told me to do the laundry. Instead of 'I need you to do the laundry' it was a riddle that took me two days to figure out."

Keefe laughed. "That sounds like something he would do."

"I was _so_ mad."

"Well, that at least means you have practice with riddles."

She nodded thoughtfully.

"Hm... '_the nesting of our kin_.'"

"Kin? Like family? So, like, elves?"

"Yeah maybe. Or swans... oh! There's a neighborhood around here called 'Swan Canyon.' Whatever the first part of the riddle is... it might be near that!"

"Okay, cool. Now we have a starting point. Lead the way."

They stepped out of the alleyway onto the sidewalk and looked around.

"Oh, I know where we are. I used to go to school around here. We're going to have to take a bus to get where we want to go."

Keefe blinked. "What's a bus?"

"It's... hard to explain. It's like a car, but it holds more people."

"We get to ride in it? I've always wanted to ride in a car!"

Sophie giggled. "Well, to ride in it, we're going to need a few dollars."

"_Dollars_?"

"Human money."

"Cool! Don't you have some?"

"Well, no. Humans don't have a birth fund like elves do."

"Oh. Weird."

"Yeah. So, we're either going to have to steal some, which I don't want to do, or figure something out."

She looked around, trying to come up with something. There was a park across the street, and when she saw the fountain, she sighed, resigning herself to what she needed to do.

"Oh boy."

"What?"

"I'm going to go get the money. People drop coins in fountains, so..."

"You're going to pull coins out of a fountain? Won't people give you weird looks?"

"I mean, yeah, but I'm already dressed as an elf, so it can't get much worse than it already is."

Keefe's face lit up suddenly. "I've got it! I know how to get the money!"

He ran off down the sidewalk and Sophie just stared after him.

"Okay..."

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

Thirty minutes later, Sophie was wet, tired and hungry as she reached for the final coin. Her back ached as she stood up straight, climbed out of the fountain, and began to count her money as she waited for her feet to be dry enough to put her shoes back on.

"Three eighty-seven, three eighty-eight, three eighty-nine, thr-"

"Hey Sophie! I got us some money. I can't read these bills, but-"

"_Bills_? As in plural? How did you get these?" she questioned, eyes wide as she counted the bills.

"Well, Dex's mom has a bunch of human movies, and in this one there was a dude- or was it a girl? -doesn't matter, anyways, they were standing there in a costume on the street really still and people just gave them money. So, I tried it, since I've got these elf clothes. And it worked."

"You made twenty-three dollars... being a _human statue_?"

"Yep."

"Wow. I don't know whether to be bitter or impressed."

Keefe smirked and winked at her. "Thanks for the compliment, Foster. I'm just an impressive guy."

Sophie blushed. "Well, we have more than enough money. I have three dollars, so that's twenty-six... we can get some ice cream while we wait for the bus."

"Ice cream?"

"Prepare to have your mind blown."

They walked into the little ice cream shop that Sophie had noticed earlier. There was a short line, so they had some time to decide what to get.

Sophie peered through the glass. "I'm just going to get some chocolate. What about you?"

"I can't read the language." Keefe said, smirking at her.

"Oh yeah... well, there's a lot of flavors, there's chocolate, vanilla, strawberry, rocky-road,"

"What's rocky-road?"

She barely had time to explain it to him before he practically shouted, "That's the one I want!"

They ordered then went to the bus stop, where they sat, eating ice cream and waiting for the bus to arrive. Keefe, being an elf, was attracting a lot of attention from passerby. He winked everyone who looked at him, and it was starting to get on Sophie's nerves.

"Could you _not_?"

"Not what?"

"Flirt with everyone who passes by."

"Aw, are you jealous? Don't worry, my heart only belongs to you."

Sophie blushed and crossed her arms. "No! I'm not jealous, we just need to avoid attention as much as possible. May I remind you, we're on a mission."

"Yeah, yeah." Keefe relented, still smirking.

They finished their ice creams in silence and boarded the bus.

"Okay, so, any ideas what might '_have a million stories_' but can't tell them?"

"I don't know. Someone really quiet?"

"_Try_ to take this seriously."

"I _am_ trying! Trying to lighten the mood. You're way to serious, Foster. You need to loosen up."

She huffed. "I just... don't want to mess this up. I've worked way too hard to earn 's trust. I don't want to let him down."

"You won't. I believe in you. I believe in your big brain." he declared, grabbing her hand and grinning at her.

She smiled at him. "Thanks. My brain isn't that big."

"Pfft. Don't you have a photographic memory like me?"

She nodded.

"See? You do have a big brain. It's like a library. Or an ice cream store with a bunch of flavors. Do you think we could come back to the forbidden cities for more ice cream?" he said, trailing off as he pictured all of the ice cream in his future.

"Wait. What did you say?"

"Your brain is like an ice cream shop?"

"No the other thing... about the library! That's it! There's a library right by Swan Canyon. I used to go there to do my school projects."

"Do you think we'll find it there?"

"Only one way to find out. "


	8. Chapter VIII

As they entered the library, Sophie was immediately hit by the familiar smell of old books and the sound of rustling paper, enveloping her like a hug. The place was silent save for the sound of ancient computers humming and an air conditioning unit chugging away near the back of the building.

This building had been rather familiar to her as a child; it was a place of escape, providing her with relief from the thoughts of those at school and at home. Quiet and still, not many people bothered to come to the library, making it the perfect place to study undisturbed.

They ventured further inside, wandering aimlessly through the maze of books. Sophie stopped when they reached the junction between fiction and nonfiction.

"This seems like as good a place as any to start looking."

Keefe turned to Sophie. "How are we supposed to find the… what are we retrieving again?"

"He didn't tell us." Sophie sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"Figures."

"Well, the reason you came was because you're an empath. Can you… empath sense anything?"

"'_Empath sense_'?"

"You know what I meant."

Keefe huffed and closed his eyes. The silence that followed was broken only by the rustling of pages and the clack of ancient computer keyboards. Keefe remained stock still, eyes screwed tight and brows drawn, as though he was attempting to remember something very important.

Then he slightly tilted his head and absentmindedly pressed a hand to his chest.

"I feel something… it's not… recognizable. But it's emotional," he opened his eyes and looked at her, "It's not like your emotions, or any human emotion I've ever felt. I think… I think this is it."

Sophie followed him as he drifted through the shelves, hands brushing over the books. She slammed into the back of him as he drew up abruptly with a sharp intake of breath.

She stared at him, eyes wide. "What? What is it?"

He pulled a book off the shelf, turning it's cover upwards.

"_The Care and Maintenance of Lawn Mowers,"_ Sophie read aloud.

"What's a lawn mower?"

"It's… not important right now. Are you _sure_ this is the right book?"

Keefe gazed steadily into her eyes. "I'm positive."

"Alright then, I trust you. We should get this back," she said, slipping the book into her satchel.

He grinned, any trace of seriousness gone. "Race you outside!"

"Wait! You can't run in here! This is a library… and he's gone," Sophie sighed the last part to herself, beginning to jog after him.

_What an idiot,_ she thought fondly to herself, navigating swiftly through the shelves in an attempt to keep up. _I wouldn't have him any other way._

Rounding the final corner, she barely made it one step before slamming straight into a robed figure bearing the symbol of a white eye on his sleeve.

.•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•..•°'°•.

The alley smelt of rotting vegetables and car exhaust, and it looked about a hundred times worse.

A small group of four Neverseen had found them, and Sophie had no idea how.

"Let go of me," Sophie yanked her arm in an attempt to free herself from her captor. He responded quickly and silently, striking her across the face. Sophie hissed in pain.

Keefe let out a strangled noise, kicking and thrashing against the two Neverseen restraining him. "HEY! _Don't touch her!_"

"Shut up," their leader spat, stalking towards Keefe and tilting his chin up to meet his eyes, "We don't have the time for this nonsense. Tell us where it is."

Keefe kept his mouth shut firmly and Sophie could sense the man's impatience. Keefe's danger.

"Where _what _is? We don't know what you're talking about," she cried, knowing it was pointless. Playing dumb never even worked in movies, the villains usually responding with something like, '_don't play dumb, what do you think I'm stupid?_'

"Don't play dumb, what do you think I'm stupid?" _Huh._

"Where is the item you were sent here to retrieve," he turned his attention to his associates, "Did you search them?"

"Of course we did. We confiscated their leaping crystals, their weapons, and a book written in a human language," he held up _The Care and Maintenance of Lawn Mowers._

Sophie made eye contact with Keefe as the Neverseen continued to argue.

_We need a plan,_ she transmitted, _we have to get that book. _

He nodded, blinking several times and moving his mouth in a funny way.

_...Was I supposed to understand any of that?_

According to the look on Keefe's face, she was.

_Okay, okay. Open your mind to me, I'm sure we can figure this out if I can just understand what's going on in your head._

Keefe just winked at her.

_Keefe. Don't you dare do anything stu-_

Keefe turned to the Neverseen stationed at his right side and stomped on his foot. Hard, apparently, as the man clutched at it, completely freeing Keefe's arm. Which he then used to punch the man on the left. In the face.

If Sophie had time to think about all of this, she would have found it incredibly hot. She did not, however, have time to think anything, instead focusing her energy on retrieving the book and the leaping crystals.

She had to make the best of the situation, even if it wasn't the _best_ plan. Even if she resented it a little bit.

She ducked away from the struggle, grabbing the book that, in the confusion, had fallen to the ground alongside their leaping crystals.

Scrambling to her feet, she spotted Keefe, cornered by all four of their captors.

She knew what had to be done. Keefe wasn't going to like it.

_Forgive me, Keefe,_ she transmitted, gathering her focus and engaging her least favorite ability.

Sophie had never… mastered inflicting. She had no one to train her, and though she knew _how_ to use her power it was unpredictable and dangerous on the best days. Mr. Forkle had deemed it fit for use only in the most dire of situations.

Sophie supposed this was one of those situations. She took a shaky breath and simply _pushed. _Pushed her pain and fear outwards, and everything went foggy.

Gasping for air, she blinked her vision clear to see Keefe crumpled alongside the Neverseen, on the filthy ground of the alley. She darted forwards and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, Keefe, but I need you to get up. Can you walk?"

He nodded, groaning and bracing himself on the wall as he struggled to his feet.

"We have to hurry, they won't be incapacitated for long."

Keefe huffed a weak laugh. "The lovely Miss Foster, using big words no matter what. You're cute when you're smart."

Well. At least he was feeling like himself.

Supporting his weight, she helped him limp out of the alley, moving as fast as they could with him still weak, suffering the aftershocks of her power.

Not fast enough.

A stiff breeze began to swirl around them, whipping Sophie's hair around her face, blowing ever stronger. Lifting them off the ground.

Sophie looked back, and her fears were confirmed. "They have a guster," she yelled over the howling of the wind that was boosting them higher and higher into the air.

Keefe clung tighter to her as the wind swirled around them, tearing at their clothes and hair as they rose above the tops of buildings. Sophie slung an arm around her waist and dug in her bag for a final option.

She grasped the leaping crystal. "Can you focus enough to make a leap?"

Keefe shook his head, mumbling something that may have been _I'm sorry_.

"Not your fault."

Time seemed to freeze as the noise, which had reached a deafening level, cut of almost instantaneously.

The wind stopped battering them from all sides.

The wind stopped lifting them. Stopped supporting them.

Then, all at once, they began to fall.

**yall i am sosososo sorry that i literally never update this ahaha um. **

**so im actually working on finishing this and theres probably going to be about? like 3 or 4 more chapters? i need to get this done and i Can now because of quarantine so i will update by next sunday at the latest. actually dont hold me to that ;-;**

**uhm tell me what ya think i guess, or if ya have any suggestions id be glad to hear them **

**also im sorry. again. for not updating. **


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